Glimpses
by MegGravy
Summary: I've never posted anything before, but I needed to explore some of the WayHaught feelings in the last episode. Even though there was very little interaction between the two (less than a minute, really), that little time carried so many feelings. This story just holds a few glimpses of what I think happened.
1. Chapter 1

Her head snaps up when she hears a knock on her door. She's the only one at the station, or so she thought. _Wynonna. Of Course_. Officer Nicole Haught doesn't exactly dislike the girl, but she does dislike the attitude Wynonna doesn't bother to hide around the station. It's almost condescending, as if she thinks she's better equipped to handle the law enforcement issues facing this town than a _trained_ officer. It's infuriating.

She's not stupid. Nicole knows there's something weird going on in this town. She's worked in other small towns before, and things can be a little crazy anywhere. But this town? The level of crazy is extraordinary. Wynonna is obviously a part of it. She may not be causing the craziness, but she definitely knows what's going on. The fact that she won't let Nicole or the other officers in on it is, yet again, infuriating.

Still.. Wynonna, as infuriating as she may be, is Waverly's sister. _Waverly. Beautiful, caring Waverly_. If things with Waverly go the way she wishes, she'll need to get along with Wynonna. She eyes the whiskey bottle in Wynonna's hand and thinks a drunken bonding session may be the way to go.

With half the bottle gone, she finds herself sitting on the floor next to a laughing Wynonna Earp. Her laugh reminds Nicole of the first time she met Waverly, and she can't help but smile. It's not like this was anything special; Nicole's thoughts usually find a way back to Waverly.

"Dude. You're like a walking bumper sticker.. who's armed." Nicole chuckles at Wynonna's drunken description of her thoughts on Waverly. She doesn't need to know just how often Nicole thinks about Waverly or how that dedication has allowed her to refine her understanding of Waverly's actions. "Waverly should be hanging out with you." And there it is. Wynonna has just voiced the thing Nicole yearns for more than almost anything. A wave of relief momentarily passes through her body. She doesn't get too excited, however; she knows Wynonna isn't thinking about the same type of relationship she's thinking of. It does lighten her heart a little, though, to know Wynonna—who disapproves so fiercely of Waverly's relationship with Champ—would spontaneously suggest that Nicole would be good company for her sister.

Maybe she'll use that to her advantage when she next decides to ask Waverly on a date… Because yes. She will be asking her out again.

* * *

"Your sister okay?" Nicole tries not to sound overly concerned as she asked about Waverly Earp. She exhales in relief at Wynonna's short affirmation; she must not be so obvious about her feelings after all.

 _Waverly Earp. It just had to be Waverly Earp._ Nicole had a lot of crushes in life, but never had one been so dangerous. Waverly herself wasn't a dangerous person. No, Waverly was a kind, generous, extraordinary person. The danger comes in the circumstances surrounding them. Not only do Waverly and her loved ones seem to attract dangerous situations, but Waverly evokes emotions in Nicole that, although have the potential for amazingness, have the potential to completely destroy Nicole if things turned sour.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Nicole agrees to grab breakfast with Wynona. Hopefully, this breakfast would help her _finally_ learn what the hell has been going on around here. As she turns to get back into her squad car, she tries to resist looking toward Waverly, but her eyes are drawn to the girl. She catches Waverly's eye in the distance. Waverly waves at her, and she wants nothing more than to go check for herself just how Waverly is coping with the night's events. Instead, she gives a wave and worried smile back. The look Waverly shoots back is nothing she was prepared for. At first, Waverly looks shy, but she quickly locks eyes with Nicole, throwing her a smirk that makes Waverly look almost naughty. Nicole's breath instantly catches in her throat, and she has to remember where she is and what she is doing. Blushing, she quickly turns to enter the driver's seat and escape before she does something inappropriate.

 _Waverly Earp will be the death of me._

* * *

 _Officer H_ ot _, indeed._ Waverly should feel guilty about eyeing up the redhead while her friend was so clearly upset about the evening's events. Maybe she should even be more upset about stabbing a pair of scissors through a strippers head; or from losing a friend; or from almost dying herself. After all, it's not every day you commit homicide (however justifiable) or face off with zombies and witchesl. She doesn't feel guilty or upset though. Instead, she feels alive. It's the kind of alive that's almost too much, so much you want to share it with someone. _Not just someone,_ she thinks. _With_ that _one._

She observes Nicole for a few minutes, wondering why she never called to get her that coffee. _I'll have to remedy that_ , she thinks. Upon catching Nicole's eye, Waverly can't help but throw her hand up in a greeting. The look that crosses Nicole's face makes Waverly's breath catch in her throat. Nicole looks so relieved and yet still so worried. She looks as though she was scared she almost lost her world, that Waverly is her world and she couldn't stand if anything happened to her. Waverly's face softens in response.

She had only just broken up with Champ. _Ugh_. Champ, the beautiful idiot who seemed like the best she could get. She never expected to meet anyone like this woman. She's so caring and beautiful and _smart_. Waverly could definitely get attached to someone with whom she could have actual conversations. And that smile… It always teases Waverly with something deeper. The sparkle that always accompanies that smile tells her how important these interactions are to Nicole. She isn't alone in her intrigue, and that is perhaps the best part. There's a mutual interest that isn't just physical—although she wouldn't deny that physical interest existed too.

At that thought, Waverly's thoughts turn to the possibilities a physical relationship with the police officer could entail. The mental image she conjures up causes a warmth to travel through Waverly's body despite the scant clothing she has to protect her from the chill in the air. Waverly blushes and looks down briefly before deciding to throw Nicole a small hint about her inner struggle. Smirking like she knows exactly how things will play out, she reconnects eyes with Nicole, trapping her in a stare and rooting her to her spot for a second.

The intrigue and awe she sees returned through Nicole's gaze excites her. She's not scared and she knows she's got to act. She almost died last night, and it wasn't the first time. With the way things have been going recently, she knows she could be in danger of dying again sooner than she'd like. She would hate to go without knowing how great this _thing_ , whatever it is between them, could be.

As Nicole enters her squad car, blushing from the intense eye contact, Waverly smiles to herself and resolves to set things in motion. _Later, Officer._


	2. Chapter 2 - Coasters

"What's going on with you, Waves?" Wynonna asks. They're seated together at Shorty's Bar. Wynonna is currently on her lunch break, which really means she's bored waiting for Dolls to clue her in on what's bothering him. "Don't get me wrong. I'm stoked you broke it off with the man-child, but why now? What changed?"

That is a topic Waverly doesn't want to think about. It was also the _only_ thing she had been thinking about lately. It all stemmed from a certain redheaded police officer. _Officer Haught_ , Waverly thought. _Of course. I should've known she'd change everything._

Waverly snaps out of her thoughts when Wynonna bumps her shoulder and says, "Dude! Seriously, what's so interesting in there?" Wynonna nods to Waverly's forehead intently, as if she can physically observe the thoughts distracting her sister.

"Have you ever met someone and just _known_ you were supposed to know them? Like they were meant to hold a place in your life?" Waverly confesses quickly.

Wynonna coughs around her coffee, clearly not expecting her sister's outburst. Waverly feels bad for a brief moment, but decides instead that she's too curious to feel bad. Waverly sets her wide, eager eyes on Wynonna and waits for a response.

"Waves…" Wynonna starts. "Please don't tell me all this is about Doc…"

Waverly keeps herself from laughing in her sister's face, but allows herself an eye-roll. "Yeah, right. Don't worry, he's all yours." She winks at Wynonna, who looks away in an attempt to hide her blush.

Once she recovers from the comment—which, Waverly notes, Wynonna does not refute—Wynonna asks who Waverly's talking about if she doesn't mean Doc.

Instead of answering right away, Waverly stands to walk behind the bar. She grabs a bottle of whiskey, stating, "I'm going to need a drink or two if we're actually going to talk about this." Wynonna doesn't comment. She smiles widely and grabs the bottle to pour an oversized shot of whiskey into her coffee.

Waverly shoots her sister a playful glare before grabbing the whiskey and taking a swig straight from the bottle. Wincing, she whispers, "Hot."

Confused, Wynonna grabs the bottle, feeling the temperature of the glass. "This bottle actually feels pretty cool, Waves. Are you sure you're okay?"

Waverly rolls her eyes again, this time allowing a groan of frustration to slip out in accompaniment. She clarifies, " _Officer_ Haught," shooting a pointed look at Wynonna, willing her to recall the original direction of this conversation.

After a minute, the confusion on Wynonna's face melts briefly into shock before settling on amazement. She almost looks impressed when she shouts, "DUDE!" At Waverly's glare, she lowers her voice and continues, "She's _hot!_ And pretty awesome, really. What's the problem?"

Waverly smiles slightly, noting her sister's obvious approval of her crush, before responding, "I've never felt like this before, honestly. It's scary." She pauses to collect her thoughts. "I've always been surrounded by the same small town people with the same small town ideas. They aren't exactly known for thinking about anything that goes on outside of Purgatory. But Nicole…"

"Wait, who's Nicole?" Wynonna interrupts.

Waverly just looks at her in disbelief. "Officer Haught?" she replies. "Dude, seriously? You work with her every day. You don't know her first name?"

Wynonna looks indignant. "Yeah, I do," she responds. "It's _Officer_."

Waverly glares at her before continuing, "Anyway… Everyone else I've dated or been involved with is the same. They don't care about connecting with me. They just care that we look good together. And that we have fun. And also _fun_." Waverly's eyebrows go up with the last statement, causing Wynonna to bristle.

"Move on, Waves." Wynonna interjects. She doesn't want to hear anything about sex with Champ.

"It's just…." Waverly sighs deeply. "It's just that I don't already know her, and I think we'd actually try to know each other. And what if—what if we do that and she doesn't really like who I _am._ I've never had to face that before." She looks down, not ready to see her sister's reaction.

Wynonna doesn't respond immediately, instead just observing her distressed sister. After a moment, she stands to walk around the bar and stops next to Waverly. Wrapping her in a comforting hug, Wynonna whispers, "Oh, but Waves… what if she learns all there is going on in that head and _does_ like it. How much better would that be?"

Waverly tenses for a few seconds before sighing again and relaxing into the embrace. She's still not sure about the potential relationship, but she's calmer for now. _At least until I actually see her again_ , her brain chimes in.

"Oh my God, you think it's stupid," Nicole rushes out through her blush. Waverly stood staring open-mouthed at the gift Nicole handed her. Before now, Nicole hadn't seen Waverly since she was attacked at her home four days ago. They didn't even really interact that day, but she can't stop thinking about the look Waverly sent her way. Nicole had been thinking about that day a lot. She went through a roller coaster of emotions that day, from her boredom at the station, to the fun she had with Wynonna, to the heart wrenching yearning she felt for Waverly during her discussion with Wynonna, and finally to the fear she felt when she realized she may never get the chance to properly know Waverly.

These thoughts led her to seek out a way to subtly show her affection for Waverly. That's how she ended up in the local general store two days ago, browsing the aisles in hopes that something perfect would jump out at her. She considered alcohol, jewelry, and even a pink, bedazzled cowboy hat. They were all wrong. Nothing just screamed "Waverly" or "I care about you." Nothing, that is, until she saw the very coasters Waverly now held in her hands.

In an attempt to recover from her embarrassment, Nicole continued, "I mean, I know they're nothing special and they may not even match the rest of your place. And I know you haven't even invited me to your house and it may be inappropriate because I've only been over there in an official capacity and now I feel like a total creeper. But you just seemed so excited about moving home and I wanted to show support and—" Nicole stops herself. She needs to calm down if she at all hopes to save this encounter.

After a deep breath, she continues, "I just wanted to show support, and I saw these coasters and though you'd like them. I thought, 'These will show her I care,' you know? They'll protect your tables, and I thought that was nice, but now I see how weird it is. It's fine; they're dumb. I can return them."

Before Nicole can take the coasters from Waverly's hands, Waverly jumps out of reach and smiles the biggest smile she's smiled in at least a week. In lieu of speaking, she unwraps the coasters and moves further inside, throwing Nicole a smile over her shoulder to indicate her welcome. Once in the dining room, Waverly finishes unwrapping the coasters and takes great care in placing them on the wood table. She steps back, admiring the new addition to her home.

After a couple of minutes, Waverly looks to Nicole who still looks anxious enough to cut and run at any moment. Smiling gently, Waverly walks toward the police officer, taking her hand. When they finally connect eyes, Waverly says, "Thank you , Nicole. They're perfect."

Nicole finally seems to relax, letting out an extended sigh before smiling at Waverly with her whole face. She did good.


End file.
